Dried Bean Curd, Barley with Gingko Nuts Dessert Soup

You will find this dessert in most of the dessert stalls/shops in Singapore.

Ingredients - serves 6-7 persons:
½ cup of pearl barley
1 large sheet of dried bean curd skin (available from Chinese dry foodstuff shops)
1 packet of shelled gingko nuts (30-40 pieces, available from supermarkets)
2 large eggs
1 large rock sugar (according to preference)
1 large pot of water (about 2000ml)

Instructions:
(1) Wash pearl barley. Pour barley into the pot of water. Turn to high heat. Bring to boil.

2) Add gingko nuts and rock sugar. Turn to low fire, cook for 30 minutes. Tilt the lid of the pot.

(3) Break dried bean curd into small pieces. Wash and add to soup. Cook for 10 minutes, or until bean curd pieces soften.

(4) Break eggs into a bowl, beat (few strokes) with fork. Pour egg into soup slowly in stages and stir until egg-drops form strips. Off fire.

(5) Serve dessert soup warm and enjoy!

Roszy's Tiffin House

Hubby and I did not know what to eat. It happened that we bumped into this restaurant located in a quiet part of Novena. Indonesian food is diverse and in Singapore, there are many restaurants serving Indonesian food such as Sudanese and Javanese food from various parts of Indonesia. Some of the Indonesian food are less spicy while the others are hot with chillies, grated coconuts and spices (ask for waiter/waitress's recommendations if unsure).

This restaurant is famous for its festive dish, Nasi Ambeng (mixed platter with Spanish mackeral fish steaks, cucumber pickles, long bean and brinjal fried with dried prawns, beef/chicken/mutton dish, just to name a few) at $18 per head. The environment was cozy, air-conditioned and clean. The service staff were friendly. Their dishes were freshly cooked upon ordering (unlike some Indonesian food stalls / restaurants which sell pre-cooked nasi padang (Indonesian dish with steamed white rice and served with various meat and vegetable dishes). So you got to wait for the food to arrive.

We ordered begedil (deep fried potato patties), beef rendang, sambal kangkong (Ipomoea Aquatica), chicken curry, botok fish (mackeral fish slices cooked with shredded coconut flesh, squeezed of its coconut milk and then wrapped with banana leaves and steamed), sambal godok (long bean, fried beancurd and tempe or fermented soybeans), stir fry bean sprouts, sayur lodeh (coconut vegetable stew) and white rice. The food was delicious. However, we thought that the begedils served were really 'miniatures' for the price of $1.20 per piece (It was the first dish served and I was too hungry and forgot all about the photo haha........) and the white rice was not free flow (need to pay $1.50 to top up). So my poor big-eater hubby did not eat enough.....

Overall, we still find this restaurant worth a try despite the negative points. The 8 dishes and rice costed us only $48.60 for 2 persons. It is recommended for gathering (families and friends who enjoy spicy food).




















Roszy's Tiffin House
51 Thomson Road
Goldhill Centre
#01-203
Singapore 307638
Tel: 6255 4788

Crystal's Food Diary: Giu Nui Restaurant (Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam)

Crystal's Food Diary: Giu Nui Restaurant (Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam): Hubby, brother-in-law and me were at...

Crystal's Food Diary: 3A3 Bun Bo Hue (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Crystal's Food Diary: 3A3 Bun Bo Hue (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): After a tired city tour and much walking on a hot afternoon, hubby, bro...

3A3 Bun Bo Hue (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

After a tired city tour and much walking on a hot afternoon, hubby, brother-in-law and me decided to just settle our lunch in this restaurant that sells Hue cuisine. Hue is the capital city of Thua Thien-Hue province in Vietnam and its cuisine is regarded by Vietnamese as the best in the country.

We ordered rice roll, beef noodle (both dried and soup-base), oyster noodle and fried rice. The food were all aesthetically presented. We liked the rice roll. However, the soup-based beef noodle is a little too spicy for my hubby. Moreover, the beef was a little raw, but hubby was daring and he ate them. What we found interesting was that the oyster noodles did not come with fresh oysters as we had expected. Instead, the dish was served with an abundance of dried oysters that had been cut up into very tiny pieces and some crispy stuff that we were not sure what they were but they tasted like fried pig skin. The fried rice, on the other hand, had a tomato-liked taste with tiny pieces of dried oysters too. Though at the end of the meal, we concluded that we were not used to the flavours of Hue food, it was still a valuable eating experience that we would never forget.

3A3 Bun Bo Hue
39A Ngo Duc Ke, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel: (08) 829 3526

Yogurt Space (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

This shop in Ho Chi Minh City served yoghurt with different flavours (plain, chocolate, strawberry, coconut, blueberry to name a few). I like their selling concept, you select a desired cup size, fill the cup with yoghurt from the different yoghurt dispensers - no restriction on the number of flavours and amounts. The cashier will just weigh the filled cup of yoghurt and determine the price to charge. The shop is spacious and air-conditioned, so you can enjoy your cold yoghurt in a cozy setting in the midst of a hot afternoon. Free ice water will be served too. Promotion: 20,000 VND for 100 grams.

Yoghurt Space
Tran Hung Dao, Phuong Co Giang, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Giu Nui Restaurant (Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam)

Hubby, brother-in-law and me were attracted to the hotel (Liberty 4) promotion. So we decided to try out this restaurant in the hotel. There was a wide spread of food, mainly vietnamese food, that ranged from staple food (fried rice, fried noodle, Pho), pork ribs, rice rolls, cold cuts, seafood soup, seafood (crabs, clams), BBQ (prawns, fish, scallops, clams, oysters, beef slices) to the less common item (escargots) and the most scariest food I have ever seen - Balut (fertilized duck egg - look at the second last photo)! I was shocked by the sight of it. I could see the dead duck with its eyes once the egg shell was peeled off. The meal was indeed an eye opener for me. The dessert spread was not fantastic though, mainly consisted of soy beancurd, red ruby dessert, grass jelly, cendol, ice-cream and cake. Service-wise, cleanliness and atmosphere were satisfactory. The restaurant also provided 1 glass of free beer/soft drink (non-refillable though) for each guest.

Weekend buffet dinner is from Friday to Sunday 1800-2130 hrs. Adult price at 245,000 VND and child price at 125,000 VND. Discount 10% on Fridays.

Giu Nui Restaurant
265 Pham Ngu Lao St., Dist.1, Ho Chi Minh City
Tel/fax: 08 38365172
Website: www.libertyhotels.com.vn